In the last 6-7 months, I've made a lot of changes in my life. To most people, they seem drastic and extreme, but when you're unhappy with who you are... sometimes that's what it takes, right? If you're curious as to what changes I made, specifically... here they are:

1) I dumped 90% of my friends. I knew them since highschool. Although we were all very close, I felt very unhappy of where I was in my life, and felt that the change I wanted couldn't come about until I cut them loose.

2) I quit smoking. I've been smoking since I was thirteen years old. I managed to quit smoking once when I was 20-21, but started again at the coaxing of one of my friends. My fault for giving in, really. I quit again 7 months ago, and am 100% sure I'll never go back. I feel so much cleaner now.

3) I started working out. I've been at it for 7 months now... I feel stronger, more energetic, and look better than I think I ever did. I can curl 40 pounds with each arm! =) Seeing results has really inspired me, and I've now set my sights on getting that true toned, cut body. It'll be at least another year before I reach that goal, but it'll be totally worth it in my opinion.

4) Stopped doing drugs... COMPLETELY. Yup, I'll admit it; I was a druggie. Did it pretty hard starting from sophomore year in highschool up until 7 months ago. You know all those commercials about marijuana, and how potheads don't do anything constructive with their lives? IT'S ALL TRUE. I was at a point where my own family didn't believe I was going to do anything constructive with my life. How sad is that?

5) Cut out games drastically from my life. I was a pretty hardcore gamer; I could tell you about what games to buy now and ten months from now. I still play games here and there, but, for the most part, it's taken a backseat in my life. I just don't think I have the room or the time in my life at the moment to concern myself with something that isn't going to do anything worthwhile for me.

6) Started trying to learn how to type "properly." For most of my life, I've been a finger typer. I was pretty good at it, too. Though I wasn't clacking away at blazing speeds, I could do 80 words-per-minute on average. Why did I feel the need to suddenly try and learn to type properly? To tell you the truth, I didn't. I recently got a new keyboard, the Enermax Aurora. It costs $50 (I got it for $35 online off some "Weekend Deal") and is a full-layout, labtop style keyboard... complete with scissor-switch keys. I know, fifty bucks sounds a bit pricey (especially considering this keyboard doesn't have any multimedia buttons of any kind...), but it's made out of aluminum and looks realllly nice. It also types like a dream. The problem is, since the keys are all flat, I kept hitting the wrong ones while finger typing. Thus, for the last 2 weeks, I've been using the traditional typing style. It's been pretty hard; I type an average of 20 wpm now (*sniffle*), but I hope to pick up speed in the coming weeks.

Anyways, that last one was really trivial, but I thought it deserved a place in my list, considering how much pain and sorrow it's been bringing me lately. My pinky fingers are having the hardest time adjusting! At first, everyone, including my family, was very surprised at the changes I had made. Why? Because I made changes 1-5 all within the same month. It was completely sudden and without any warning. It took a lot of willpower and a lot of sacrifice, but ultimately I'm a lot happier with where I'm at. My family is very proud with who I've become, and who they see me becoming in the days ahead; I think that's the biggest reward I've received so far. Now, I just got to get this stupid typing thing down.

Side note: I went down to Staples today, in an attempt to find a new ballpoint pen to use while writing notes. Many people like using gel ink pens, but I've had a lot of bad experiences with them (like they decide to suddenly stop releasing ink). Others praise fountain pens, but they seem a bit too expensive, and last time I used one it seemed too "watery," which forced me to write larger. Well, the two pens that caught my eye were the Zebra 301 and the Parker Jotter. I ended up getting the 301 (they had a higher 402 model, but they cost an extra dollar each; decided to try out the cheaper model first before I invest in a more expensive pen using the same exact ink cartridge), and have to say that I'm loving it. It uses a fine point, and writes very smoothly. I was using the cheap papermates before, and I don't think I'm ever going back. I used to have to scribble with the papermates to get them going again if I didn't use them for a few minutes; no such thing with the Zebra's. I can just pick them up and start writing where I left off and they're fine. Highly recommend them.